Consumer Complaints and Reviews

Kelly of Greenbrier, TN on May 11, 2016

Satisfaction Rating

I financed a car 2 years ago through Kia Rivergate with no issues. I was pushed into a car I didn't want (stick shift) but fine, whatever. I have had a 100% payment rating since then. I started getting emails nearly every day saying, "please come in and trade up your car!" Finally, I came in just to see if I could get the same car, nothing fancy but an automatic. I was pushed and swindled and put into a 2015 (not even a new car) covered in scratches for 10K more than my last car! My payment was even bumped up $200 more a month!

I filed a complete with Department of Commerce and I got a snide letter back from Kia calling me a liar. This is my response to the lady handling my case. I got the paperwork with Kia's response and every bit of it is an out and out lie. I did NOT know about the payments or who my lender even was until I threatened to bring the news station with me and show up at the dealership. I still have the email that I sent the general manager when I was trying for 2 weeks to get someone to contact me. I called every day and left messages, talked to people on the website and emailed numerous times and no one responded until I threatened to show up with the news.

I was told when I was signing the paperwork that it would be $50 more a month not $200 more. I was NOT told that my father-in-law was the purchaser, he was always referred to as the cosigner and none of the paperwork was filled out when we signed. I did not "show up to buy a car." I came in because I had gotten repeated emails saying I qualified to turn in my car for a new one with the same payment. The entire thing was rushed and full of lies. I am paying for two cars, but I only have one and my father-in-law who lives on social security cannot purchase a car for himself because this shows up on his credit as his car! This car was never his nor will it ever be his. They also put all of my registration in his name (they promised they wouldn't). They knew what they did because after 30 days they had me come and get another temporary tag but were by no means in a hurry to fix the registration.

The car has gouges of paint missing on the front and back and scratches from end to end like it was gone over with sandpaper and this was the ONLY car they showed me that night. I was completely scammed and I want something more than a rude letter from them with no restitution being made. DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM KIA RIVERGATE! They will lie, swindle and push you into a crap deal and then avoid you until you have to make an ass of yourself to get someone to call you back.

2010 KIA forte car in for a recall on the brake lights. I heard a humming sound. Took it back and the mechanic said, "It was my pulley." He said, "Those things just happen." My car drove nice before I took it. I had it check again ac compressor???

Because of their TV ads, I called Kia Rivergate this Tuesday to see if they could help me get a smaller, cheaper car to lower my monthly payment. I requested a pre-approval and was responded to by David **. David said that he had seen my (very bad) credit score but assured me that he could get me into a car due to my perfect car payment record and perfect (former) mortgage record. I specifically told him my ONLY reason for coming to this dealership was that I needed a smaller car with a lower monthly payment. I also said that I did not want to drive all the way to Madison if this was NOT a possibility. David reassured me that this would not be a waste of my free time (see the attached text). I even asked to come in that day, Tuesday, but he said that Thursday would be best as "special Kia reps who could finance me in-house would be there only on Thursday."

I found out later through Mr. ** (sp?), said they were there only earlier in the day... so why did David say they would be there to help me at 6-ish?? David texted me at 5:30 this afternoon to reaffirm my appointment, MY OFF TIME, to make sure that I make the appointment so neither of us would waste each other's time. I called him at 6:15 to tell him I was running late. He thanked me for calling and said he'd be waiting for me. When I finally arrived, I asked for him, he came out to say he was with another client but Mr. ** would be helping me... What the??? So I Sat down with Mr. ** who knew NOTHING about me and made me repeat all my personal information. After 20+ minutes of him re-taking my information, explaining to him that I just moved to Nashville in May, he then went to your "main" desk. He then came back requesting my proof of income, which was fine.

THEN all of a sudden he was shocked that I had only been with my current employer for 3.5 months in Nashville, not 3.5 years... Seriously??? Then we went round and round trying to resolve my car payment history which has been PERFECT for the last 30 YEARS... THEN, after showing me several USED cars, we finally came inside only for him to give me a $380.00, 72 month payment on a USED car. WTF??? URRRGGHHH! THE ONLY REASON I CAME HERE WAS TO FIND A CHEAPER CAR PAYMENT!!! So then David ** finally came over and tried to tell me how the 2014 car was such a great deal. I said, AGAIN, that I wasn't looking for a new car. Just something to make my payments lower so I can help myself out of debt!!! All in all, these people are scam artist and should be shut down!!!

Salesman stated that he wanted to get a credit score to see what I would be approved for, however he stated it would be a soft hit. They applied for credit without me even filling out paperwork. Totally dishonest salesman. Horrible dealership. Never will I purchase from this company.

Had Kia Soul & wanted to trade up for Sorento. Texted & spoke to salesperson, **. Never went into dealership because they could not meet what I needed to make a deal. I ended up trading with Crest Honda for a new CR-V and I love it! I have excellent credit (in the 800's) and the other day I received a letter in the mail from Rivergate KIA stating I had applied for a loan and had been denied, but it also showed my credit score as being over 800. I never applied for a loan and if I had, I would not have been denied. I tried calling and texting ** but he did not respond. I went into the dealership yesterday when they opened and a salesman pointed me in the direction of the finance manager who was extremely rude. He told me to speak to ** and told me that the sales manager is the only person who is allowed to run credit reports.

I then spoke to a sales manager named ** who looked at the letter and said it did appear someone had run my credit but that he didn't do it and also said he never runs credit on anyone without an application. I researched this and car dealerships are not allowed to run a person's credit without an application. He also said with my credit score that there is no way I would have been denied, so nothing about the letter makes any sense. He said he would speak to ** today, as he was off yesterday and get back to me with an answer.

Yesterday afternoon, ** called me and admitted that he ran my credit and said it was an "honest mistake". I asked him how that happened since I never even came into the dealership, much less filled out an application and he only said he "assumed" it was okay to run my credit. He would not tell me exactly how they did it without me filling out an application. I have filed a complaint with the state and will pursue this further. Please beware of this dealership. What they did is illegal!! I now have a letter from Universal KIA of Rivergate stating I applied for a loan, which I did not and was denied, with a credit score of over 800!!

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tim of Whitehouse , TN on June 21, 2015

Satisfaction Rating

Was wanting to purchase car, however needed credit run. Asked salesman to call with a decision. He never called. Maybe I wasn't able to purchase today. However, he never asked so he will never get the sale. BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I had been talking to T.C a sales consultant there for a couple of days. I had told him that he would have to give me a reason to drive all the way over to his dealership to even look at the vehicle because it would be a long drive, he talked to his manager and called me back with an out the door price of $7,500. The list price for the vehicle on the website was $7,991. We made the long drive to go check out the car, and T.C. was not there today. We talked with a new consultant that had to bring his manager over to speak with us, because the car we were looking at had more damage to it than was disclosed. We felt the out the door price should have been lowered even more.

The manager came over and said that they would honor the List Price of $7,991 and that they actually had $8,400 in the car. I at this point told the manager that we had already been quoted the out the door price of $7,500 and he acted like I was lying to him and just shook his head. I then told him that I had the entire conversation where the out the door price was quoted to me recorded and his mouth dropped and he said "Really", so I played the recording to him and it was 100% clear that the sales consultant quoted the out the door price and I even had the sales consultant say which vehicle this quote price was for.

After the recording was over, the manager stood up and did not say a word and just walked away for a few minutes and came back and said that we were misinformed and that they would not sell the vehicle at that price. My wife and I stood up and told them to have a nice day and drove away. I have never seen the level of incompetence, rudeness, and complete disregard for a potential customer as I witnessed today. I would strongly recommend avoiding this dealership.

I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and while visiting my friends in Nashville, my car stopped running. The trimming belt broke, and it damaged my engine. I took it to Kia in Rivergate. It is a 2001 model. They gave me a quote for a new engine and also for a rebuilt engine. They said that I had several options for engines as there would be several choices depending on the miles, so I said to check. Lo and behold, there was only one engine, and if I wanted it done, I had to take that. I had no choice because I was stuck there. They quoted me $3,925.00 + tax. I said OK. I had to borrow the money.

The engine was $2,195.00 + labor + tax. Three or 4 days later, I was called and told that I need an exhaust system. I said no, because I could get it fixed for nothing here in Fort Wayne. On the following Saturday, I was told I could pick it up. I was charged $4,735.53. I was very upset and very very angry. They had told me they would accept a 10% coupon off from another Kia dealer, which brought it down to $4,261.96. So I asked what the extra charges were, and I wanted a list of everything. They said they didn't know and blew me off.

The following morning, I called the manager and told him I wanted an explanation. He was so very very sorry that they had put the exhaust on and I wasn't to be charged and he would refund $178.18 back to my account (where he got that figure, I certainly don't know). That was 2 weeks ago, and my money is not there. I called 2 days ago, and he said he was very sorry, his manager was sick, but he would do it right then. Still no money. So as soon as they open, I will call again. And this time, I'm fixing to burn up the phone. I was given 10% off of $4,735.00. With everything else, I was not given anything off, just overcharged and cheated. I like my car, but because of this, I will never ever buy another Kia. You might enjoy reading the reviews on the owner of this Kia dealer.

My husband took my Optima into the dealership today to have the oil changed. This car is my pride and joy and we take very good care of it. When he returned with it, there were grease or oil fingerprints in several places on the hood as well as a scratch. We paid extra for the dealer to do this because we trusted them to do an excellent job, so I was extremely upset about these prints all over my hood and the scratch is awful. We both have Kias and really like our cars, but this has upset us both. I took pictures if you need to see them.

I walked in and explained how much I had. I went through a credit check and they said they could "help, but it would be difficult." I decided that if it was that much trouble, we probably could not afford the car. When the salesman returned, we told him that we would look elsewhere but might be back later. He yelled at us, cursed us, stated that we drove around to dealerships making people work for free and laugh at them. He threatened us, told us that we were required to buy a car from him because he'd looked for cars for us, and tried to take our keys. His manager and other members of staff circled us and it was obvious that this was a standard business practice of intimidation and badgering. We walked out while the salesman and his manager screamed obscenities at us.

I purchased a 2007 Kia Spectra from them on 02/14/09. They told me it had been thoroughly checked over, that they wouldn't have it on the lot if it wasn't a "good" car. They asked me what I was looking for and I said, "A reliable little car". On 04/28/09, it stalled out in traffic; the check engine light came on. I took it to Hickory Hollow Kia (closer) and they said it was the canister close valve. I had a warranty until 60,000 miles, buying it used, so they fixed it. Two days later the check engine light came on again. I took it back. They said someone did not tighten a valve correctly, so they fixed it again. In Nov. 2009. the check engine light came on again. I took it to HH Kia again, think it was the timing belt. I spent $838. They offered me a rental car; I did not ask for it. I had it back in the allotted time.

Then I saw a charge for a rental car on my bank statement! I called twice, and they said they would take it off, but they didn't. I had to go to the bank, get a statement from a bank officer, drive all the way down to HH and talk to an office manager, who said he would get a reimbursement on my bank statement. Finally, they did. In March 2010, the check engine light comes on again! It would come on, go off, over and over. Just about the time I would be off from work and be ready to take it in, the light would go off. Steve, the service manager at HH Kia got ugly with me when I told him it was very inconvenient to keep having to take this car to the shop! My sister was dying of cancer and on hospice in the latter part of March, and I did not have time to go sit at a car shop. I wanted to be with her as much as I could. She died March 28th. That afternoon, I was going home for the first time in 3 days, and the car started stalling out at stops, and hesitating the whole time I was driving it.

The check engine light came on again! I made it home, and I took it to a different mechanic on March 30th. They could not figure out what was wrong with it. I paid to have it towed to Rivergate Kia. They kept telling me that they never had these problems with the Kia Spectra. I said, "Well, you are having them and it is happening to me!" They were basically saying, "well, you bought it used, tough luck." Rob **, the service guy there, was the only nice person out of the whole bunch. I told him that this was ridiculous and how much trouble I had with this car and he agreed. I left it there. He called me later in the day and said it was some oil valve in the solenoid (I have all of my paperwork). He said I could come get it. I could not arrange a ride until Thursday, April 15th.

A friend rode with me in a borrowed car. I paid them with a check for $438 and I went on to work. She was going to drive the Kia back to where we live west of Nashville. I found out later it died and the check engine light came on the minute she pulled out onto Gallatin Pike! She took it back in. Now they say it is the canister close valve again. They fixed it at "no charge", then Sean tried to make it look like he was doing me such a big favor by not charging me the $500 he said it would have normally cost! I told him I had just paid to have it fixed and obviously they didn't fix it, so he should have fixed it for nothing! He tried to tell me it was my fault about the canister close valve because I didn't know how to put gas in the car correctly, that I was "topping off". I told him I never do that.

They used every opportunity when something went wrong with this car to make it look like it was my fault. I drove it to Chattanooga on April 16th to teach a class. It drove fine until Sunday, April 18th, when the check engine light came on again! I took it back on Monday, April 19th. Rob's jaw dropped when I walked back in. he kept apologizing. Now they are saying it is the catalytic converter, and it will cost $1300 to fix it. I took it to another mechanic and he fixed it for $447. It is running fine now, but I keep wondering, what's next.

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